Text PreviewAmerica has always been an extremely patriotic nation. The manner in which we became a nation is a source of pride for many Americans. We fought for our freedom in the Revolutionary War, after courageously standing up to the tyrannical British government. Over the years, we have triumphed over many social injustices and have finally created a democratic nation in which all are free and equal. That history is reflected in all of us, in our laws, customs and attitudes. Most American children are taught very young that they are lucky to be Americans, and are raised to learn the reasons why they should be very proud of that fact. After the events of September 11th 2001, many Americans were shook to the core. It was difficult for many to understand why such a horrible thing would happen to so many innocent people. It was especially difficult for many to understand that America, a nation that they saw as practically invincible, could be vulnerable to multiple severe attacks. I personally believe that September 11th and the following events have led to attitudes of stronger pride and patriotism in many Americans, and that has led to an even further ethnocentric America. The following paper will discuss these events, some of the reasons why they may have perpetuated an ethnocentric attitude and in what ways, as well as attempt to discuss in what ways these attitudes can be dangerous and how they could be combated. Ethnocentrism is defined as the idea that one's own culture is the center of everything, and all other groups (or cultures) are scaled and rated with reference to it (Neulip, 2003). While it incites pride in one culture or group, it also clouds the perception of other groups, and leads to judgment of those groups. This judgment is based solely on the fact that this particular group is different from one's own group. It is not difficult to understand why a tragic event could lead to the further ethnocentrism of a nation. When a tragedy occurs, it is important for people to find some positive outcome. With September 11th, that positive outcome was the unification of all Americans. Ethnocentrism is very beneficial when one's group is attacked, because it offers support from all members of the group (Neulip, 2003). It is also important for people to understand why such a tragedy occurs, and when looking for with reasons, Americans may not have been offered the best answers. One of the Bush Administration's answers to the attacks was the notion of "The War on Terror". It was promised that America would wage war on evil, terror, other undesirable intangible objects and the people that carry them out. The problem with calling it a war however is that it creates the idea of a large enemy, rather than a group of criminals that committed a crime (Edwards, 2004). This could confuse many Americans as to who exactly our enemy is, and sets the unrealistic expectations of defeating all of them. To this date, we have still not captured our main target, Osama bin Laden. Creating a war also creates the need for a leader. President George Bush rose to the position and became seen as a hero, though he had been unpopular prior to the attacks in the first several months of his presidency (Edwards, 2004). September 11th was often referred to by President Bush and his administration as, "an attack on the democracy of the world". This brings about the idea that America is equivalent to the rest of the world, and that all nations should want to be like America (Edwards, 2004). It also creates the assumption that since America is worthy of so much attention and empathy, that it must be an exceptional nation. The idea that one nation is exceptional naturally provokes the idea that other nations are less important (Edwards, 2004). The idea of the attack on the democracy of the world was also used to pressure the other nations of the world to support America in their War or Terror, and later in the War in Iraq. Nations that did not agree with...
Show More

Please sign up to read full document.

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...The “State of Nature” in this post-9/11 21st Century America is one of self-induced fear, not by the US citizens but by our president. With constant reminders of terrorist threats against the US, as well as the constant state of high alert, the president has placed Americans in a tough place. US citizens are in constant fear and are looking to their government for protection. This idea stems back to the writings of Hobbes in Leviathan. Hobbes critiques the effects of government, or as lack there of, on man and society.
Hobbes first describes man’s state of nature, in which he states that all men are by nature equal in their strengths as well as their minds. He states that even “the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination, or by confederacy with others, that are in the same danger as himself” (Hobbes, 1). This state of equality, however, creates considerable conflict between man because it leads people to seek power. He said ‘if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies” (1), at this point the men would “endeavour to destroy or subdue one another” (1). Hobbes believes that without some type of power to mediate between man, they will remain in this constant state of war, as well as in a state of “continual fear, and danger of violent death” (2). He believed that every man would become every man’s enemy because he felt...

...Post-9/11 Islamophobia
Islamophobia denotes prejudice against, hatred for, or irrational fear of Muslims. Such fear and hostility leads to discriminations against Muslims, exclusion of Muslims from mainstream political or social process, stereotyping, the presumption of guilt by association, and most frequently, hate crimes. In post9/11America, Islamophobia has resulted in the general and unquestioned acceptance that Islam does not share common values with other major faiths, that Islam is a religion of violence and supports terrorism, and even that Islam has a violent political ideology. According to a study done in July of 2002 by the Arab American Institute Foundation on profiling, “[n]early one in three Arab Americans say they have personally experienced discrimination in the past because of their ethnicity.” A poll done more recently in 2011 suggests that only “[t]hree-in-ten Americans say they interact daily (6 percent) or occasionally (24 percent) with a Muslim. More than two-thirds (68 percent) report that they seldom or never interact with a Muslim.” This paper will discuss that in accordance with Muqtedar Khan’s article “American Exceptionalism and American Muslims,” that while the “United States has become a place where Islam thrives in all its diversified glory,”3 statistics show that Muslim’s are discriminated against.
In 2011, The Washington...

...Randy Woodford
4/17/11
Phil 308
Islam Post9/11
When dealing with racial tensions between Americans and Muslims after such a catastrophic event such as September 11th, the outlook on Muslims from an American’s standpoint may forever be tarnished. Much like the way Americans viewed Japanese following the attack on Pearl Harbor, although the Japanese people who we may come in contact with in the U.S. had nothing to do with the attack because they are Japanese, after the attack was not the best of times for them. All over the world following September 11th you would hear reports of violence towards Muslims by American citizens who in their own mind thought they were standing up for their country and in a way “getting back” at the Muslim community by burning flags, threatening, or causing physical harm to individuals solely based on their Arab ethnicity.
In the case of Kurt Westergaard and his very controversial cartoon where he depicts the prophet Muhammad to be a terrorist, I feel that yes maybe he went a little too far by labeling the character in the cartoon Muhammad. If Westergaard would have wrote the same cartoon with the same texts and pictures but only used another Arab/Muslim name besides Muhammad I believe the cartoon would not have caused such a big uproar. In my opinion it is wrong for anyone to make fun or pass judgment on another individual just because they are different from you, especially...

...Cullen Irons
Athanasakkis
Writing 2
Censored in America: Post9/11 Censorship and the Bush Administration
Censorship is not a new concept and is probably as old as the beginnings of communication itself. Governments have always kept information from the public, often in the interest of national security. Censorship has also been used to silence opposition to the government. In the past it seemed that this was common practice in other countries; usually non-democratic countries like the former Soviet Union or places with power hungry, tyrannical dictators who must take such measures to maintain control of the people. In recent years America has become the victim of this practice as our president, George W. Bush, has gone to great lengths to keep certain information, even information and records that were previously freely available to the general public, out of the mainstream. The Bush Administration has enforced a strict censorship policy via the Patriot Act and extreme limiting of the Freedom of Information Act, using 9/11 and its duty to protect the U.S. from terrorism as the reason.
Censorship is the action of any person or group controlling what can and cannot be viewed, read, or used by the public. Censorship is not limited to national or state governments, but is found in our schools, on the internet, in our libraries, and even in our...

...Cole Martin
23 January 2013
Ethnocentrism in America
“Race” to me is essentially a classification method that everyone uses to sort humans into large, distinct groups based upon an excess of different affiliations, such as nationality, ethnicity, culture, and class. “Race” is totally just a myth and is no way something that is real or genuine. It has absolutely nothing to do with genetics. The view that reflects the conviction that civilization is divided into these distinct groups called “races” is called racism, and the members of each “race” share certain attributes that make the group either low-class or high-class. The process of racialism can verify the belief in racial differences, but not the absolute hierarchy between different “races.” Racialism is something that occurs on an everyday basis, whether we believe it or not. From your facial expressions to your decision on who to trust can be referred to as racialism. Everyone has a different view on “race”, racism, and racialism and it is essential to keep this in mind whenever talking about experiences that shape ones definition of it. Everyone has this dissimilar view due to the fact that each person is involved in a different experience that allows him or her to take a different outlook based upon every experience they are personally involved in. This simply means that family, residential communities, schooling, work, friendships, sporting events, and movies all must be taken into...

...Travis Nichols
U.S. History 1896 – Present
Aaron Weinstein
9-11 & the Effects on America
​The events that took place on September 11th 2001 changed the way things worked in America. On that day Islamic extremist high jacked four U.S. airplanes with the intent of crashing them into the twin towers, the Pentagon and the White House. Two of the planes did indeed crash into the twin towers in New York City and another was used to hit the pentagon. The passengers on the last plane however, fought back, and it was landed before it could be used to hit the white house. These were the first attacks ever directed toward U.S. civilian population. These calculated attacks lead to the need for an immediate change in the way U.S. approached defending itself.
One of the major changes that were caused by the attack of 9/11 was the introduction to the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act gives the U.S. power to deter and punish terrorist acts in the U.S. and around the world. It was passed on October 26th, 2001, just forty-six days after the attacks on the twin towers and the pentagon occurred. The patriot act dramatically reduced restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone, e-mails, medical, financial, and other records; eased restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States. Basically there was nothing off limits to government agencies such as the F.B.I.,...

...﻿ESSAY – What impacts did 9/11 have on America?
September 11, 2001, also known as 9/11, was the day that changed America, and made the world stand still. It was the most extreme attack that America had ever witnessed, far surpassing any other attempted terrorist attack. There were great impacts following 9/11, including the effects on the psychology of the American public and their perceptions of the world and other races. There was a significant impact on the economy. The government expended massive amounts of money in anti-terrorism measures, including war, business insurance, personal compensation and general clean-up costs. The attacks also had a huge impact on the American government, and its citizens’ perception of the government, specifically George W. Bush, who was the president at the time.
On September 11th 2001, there were multiple terrorist attacks directed at the United States of America. Four planes were hijacked mid-flight. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers (the world trade centre) in New York. Another plane destroyed part of the pentagon in Virginia, and the fourth was crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers disabled the terrorists. There are many suggested reasons for the attacks on the United States, some of which have been made public by Osama Bin Laden, the leader...

... 4th year
Eleven years after 9/11America is weaker not stronger. Discuss. 6th December 2012.
International Political Economy (BUS4005)
John Hogan
Contents Page number
Introduction4
2.Microeconomics4
2.1New York4
2.2 Consumer Sentiment5
2.3Airline and Insurance industry5
2.4Foreign Oil5
3.Macroeconomics6
3.1Cost of War6
3.2Unemployment7
3.3Annual Federal Budget Deficit7
3.4Balance of Trade8
3.5Security8
4.International Relations 8
4.1The United Kingdom 8
4.2Russia 9
4.3The Middle East 9
5.US Politics 10
5.1Presidency Approval Rating 10
5.2Iraqi War 10
5.3PATRIOT Act 11
5.4Conspiracy Theories 12
5.5Naivety 12
6.Sociology 13
6.1Sense of Threat 13
6.2Heightened Paranoia 14
6.3Effect of War 14
6.4Prejudice 15
Conclusion 15
Appendix 16
References 18
Bibliography 23
1. Introduction
The purpose of this essay is to discuss the idea that eleven years after 9/11, America is weaker not stronger.
I will analyse this issue from an international political economic perspective. The effects of this event are so vast that using the ideas of any single academic discipline will not suffice. It calls for an interdisciplinary, multidimensional analysis. With this in mind the aspects that I will take into account for my study are microeconomics, macroeconomics, U.S politics, international relations...